Waves of bombs and infantry fuel Russian gains in east Ukraine

Assaults driving surge in civilians fleeing, raising pressure on logistics hub Pokrovsk

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Ukraine-Russian assaults are raising pressure on the strategic eastern logistics hub of Pokrovsk, Ukraine said on Aug 2, as waves of guided bombs and infantry led to some of Moscow's largest territorial gains since spring.

The push is fuelling a surge in civilians fleeing, with requests for evacuation in the area increasing about tenfold over the past two weeks.

Russian forces have been steadily inching forward on several fronts in the eastern Donetsk gion, staging particularly fierce attacks near Pokrovsk, with Kyiv's troops stretched thin 29 months after Russia's full-scale invasion.

Russia's gains of around 57 sq km in the space of a week are the third-largest recorded since April after they made only modest gains in June, analyst Pasi Paroinen of the Black Bird Group told Reuters.

Russian forces are using warplanes and artillery fire to support waves of infantry assaults in the area near Pokrovsk, Mr Ruslan Muzychuk, a spokesman for Ukraine's National Guard, said in televised remarks.